An Indonesian court sentenced remorseful Bali bomber Ali Imron to life in jail on Thursday for helping to organize and carry out the deadly Bali bombings last year that killed 202 people.

The sentence was tougher than the 20-year term sought by prosecutors after Imron expressed sorrow during his trial that his actions had killed innocent people and urged family and supporters not to imitate him.

"The defendant has been proven legally and convincingly guilty of plotting with others crimes of terror. We are therefore sentencing the defendant to life in jail," said presiding judge Mulyani.

In its sentencing the court referred to an article of Indonesian law requiring that any person convicted on those charges be sentenced to death, or a minimum of life in jail.

In cases concluded earlier, judges had sent two key suspects to death row on charges similar to those against Imron, but they had shown neither his remorse nor his cooperative attitude.

Judges accepted the prosecution's case that Imron had helped make the bombs, helped deliver a bomb-laden car to the targeted nightclubs and planted another bomb near the U.S. consulate general in Denpasar.

"The defendant, with Arnasan and Iqbal, rode a Mitsubishi L-300 minivan which had a bomb in it. The driver of the car was the defendant," one of the five judges said earlier.

"When the car reached the Kuta intersection he got out and Arnasan took over the car and parked it in front of the Sari Club."

The Bali blasts last October 12 killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists partying at Sari Club and Paddy's Bar at the famed Kuta beachstrip which were frequented by Westerners.

Arnasan died in the Sari Club blast while Iqbal, who was wearing a vest filled with explosives, died in Paddy's.

Another key Bali bombing suspect on trial, Mukhlas, will hear his fate on October 2.

Prosecutors have asked for death for Mukhlas, Imron's older brother, who police say is a senior leader of the Jemaah Islamiah Muslim group.

Police and prosecutors have said the Bali attacks were the work of Jemaah Islamiah, an al Qaeda-linked Southeast Asian militant network accused of plotting violence across the region.

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